MoFo recently concluded its 2023 Summer Associate Program, where summer associates were integrated into the firm’s daily operations in all our U.S. offices and Tokyo. The program provided comprehensive trainings, mentorship from partners and associates, meaningful and challenging client and pro bono assignments, constructive evaluation sessions, and social and networking opportunities so that summer associates could experience MoFo’s culture and team environment firsthand.
Firmwide learning and development programs, designed to familiarize summer associates with MoFo’s policies, practices, and tools, included a fireside chat with MoFo’s chair and vice chairs, practice area spotlights and best practices, a writing skills workshop, and sessions on contract drafting.
Under the guidance of MoFo lawyers, summer associates completed a variety of client and pro bono projects, exposing them to litigation and transactions work and allowing them to demonstrate and develop legal writing, research, and analytical skills. Each summer associate was paired with a mentor and a work coordinator to ensure that they were connecting with lawyers across offices and departments and gaining insights into the type of law they want to practice and what it’s like to be a MoFo lawyer.
Summer associates got to know each other and our attorneys through many social outings this summer, including partner-hosted dinners, sporting events, concerts, outdoor activities, museum tours, cooking classes and competitions, paint nights, and community service projects.
Multiple summer associates were invited to write about their experiences from the program on topics such as mentorship, pro bono, learning and development, and diversity and inclusion. Read their MoFo Stories here:
· Doing Meaningful Work: Pro Bono at MoFo – Rodrigo Bermudez, Boston
· MoFo’s Commitment to Diversity in Its Pro Bono Practice – Meelissa Tapia Cortez, San Francisco
· Celebrating Diverse Trial Lawyers at MoFo – Sydney Gaskins, Los Angeles
· Diversity and Inclusion at MoFo – Masha Miura, New York
· Mentorship at MoFo: A Commitment in Both Promise and Practice – Nina Worth, Washington, D.C.